The night was quiet. Especially for Spes. He was all alone, lying on a comfy bed in a big, fancy room. He had even just had the most delicious dinner he'd ever had earlier. Normally, Spes would've been overjoyed from receiving such treatment, but the succession of recent events made him lost in thought instead.
It all started because of that damned Ritual. Then came the explosion, along with the mysterious blue aura of his. The same aura that brought the Necronomicon to his hands.
Spes slightly felt a chill down his spine when he saw the grimoire on the table next to him. Were it not for the evil-warding properties of the Crest of Safeguard he received from the Royal Armory, he feared that he would not be able to sleep that night.
"I wonder how Master is doing…"
Spes was starting to miss the old mage. He wondered what he would think of all that had just happened. He tried to inquire about him again with Archmage Vis, but he's been too busy with both his Quest's preparation and the defense of the Kingdom's borders.
Lost in thought, Spes slowly drifted into slumber. Thoughts of ritual and mysterious powers turned into raging flames that burned all around him. Sounds of terrifying screams and dreadful growls came along with a burning heat that all came together and overwhelmed his mind.
Spes immediately woke up from whatever had just been going on in his sleep.
"What… What was that nightmare?" he asked himself as he wiped the beads of sweat on his face.
For some reason, it felt like all that he had experienced was all too real. He then noticed something heavy on his lap. Spes looked down to only be greeted by the terrifying Necronomicon laying on him.
What really terrified Spes wasn't that, but the features of the grimoire had dramatically changed overnight! When he got it, its cover was just dark black, but now the texture of the cover had changed and felt more rugged, and its color had turned into something like dried leather!
Spes immediately tossed the creepy grimoire off him. He was definitely sure that that nightmare of his was caused by that Necronomicon. He wanted to rush out of the room and forever leave that cursed grimoire there on the floor, but then he stopped in his steps.
He recalled the words of the Grandmaster. If he were to leave that grimoire there, everything would slowly get corrupted.
Spes closed his eyes and sighed greatly before picking up the grimoire with shaky hands.
"The blue aura had to give me this instead of Hero Artifacts…"
Spes slightly felt the wording "blue aura" sounded off.
"Blue sense?" he thought, since it was blue and he could sense things through it.
As he was about to brush it off since it sounded stupid, he felt the Necronomicon pulsate, and mysteriously, a name appeared in his mind.
"The Seeing Wound…" Spes whispered.
Somehow, the information about these two words was already all in his mind.
"The Seeing Wound is no gift, but a scar upon the soul torn open by failed summoning—a silent fracture through which the bearer perceives ritual echoes and otherworldly presences beyond mortal grasp."
Spes didn't know how to process what had just happened. The term and explanation really did sound logical. He compared the description to his past experience, and it literally matched! He was blasted by the explosion from the failed ritual. And because of that, the artifact of Hero Roberto, that was from another world, resonated with him. He really had this Seeing Wound trait.
But what worried Spes the most was that the Necronomicon… it spoke to him. How did it know what he was thinking about? How did it send this information into his head?
"Open the Necronomicon, and the truth will unfold." An archaic voice spoke to him as he was questioning everything.
The voice, as if casting a spell toward Spes, made him slowly reach out and place his hand on the book's cover. As he was about to open the Necronomicon, he felt like a bucket of cold water had been tossed right in his face, giving him back full control over himself.
Spes couldn't see it, but right as he touched the grimoire, the Crest of Safeguard on his forehead slightly shined. He quickly let go of the Necronomicon with fear in his eyes. After what had just happened, Spes did not want that grimoire near him at all costs. He quickly rushed out of the room and ran back toward the Royal Armory.
"Grandmaster Viseo! Grandmaster Viseo!" Spes shouted as he got there.
"Who dares to shout my name so early in the morning!" The Grandmaster annoyingly got out of his workstation.
Viseo's annoyance was immediately replaced by concern when he saw that it was Spes running toward him with fear on his face.
"What is it, boy!?"
Spes quickly told his experiences, starting from his dreams, the grimoire changing form, and him losing control over his body!
"I thought that you were immune to it, but I was wrong… Your resistance to its corruption is just very, very powerful."
The Grandmaster looked at the scared young man in front of him and sighed.
"You can give it back… we'll somehow manage to do something about that abomination…"
Spes bitterly handed the grimoire back to Viseo.
"See how the heroic Spes backs down…" he thought to himself as he dared not to look the Grandmaster in the eye from shame.
Spes also removed the Crest of Safeguard off his head and extended it to the Grandmaster. Viseo took the Crest and looked at the young man, who was full of shame and bitterness.
"Do not be down, child," the old man said as he gently patted Spes's shoulder.
"Knowing when to back off does not make one a coward."
He looked into the young man's eyes, his voice calm but firm.
"The line between bravery and foolishness is thinner than most realize. You didn't cross it—you made the wiser choice. That takes more courage than charging blindly forward."
The Grandmaster placed the Crest of Safeguarding back onto Spes's head as he finished his lecture.
"Losing a battle doesn't mean you've lost the war. What makes someone truly special is the will to rise after a fall. So get up… and face your next fight."
Spes squinted his eyes and gave himself a big slap. The Grandmaster smiled when he saw the resolute look on the young man's face.